STATE OF MINNESOTA IN DISTRICT COURTCOUNTY OF ROCK FIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICTCase Type: Quiet Title ActionCourt File: Gregory A. Eitreim, as Personal Representativeof the Estate of Irid A. Eitreim, Plaintiff,vs.Nancy C. Vikman; Jeffrey D. Eitreim; Gregory A. Eitreim; Donald Eitreim; Warren Eitreim; Milton Eitreim; Shirley Knowlton; Dorothy Oien; Bernice Miller; Mildred Larson; Richard Eitreim; Catheryn Meier; Mary Simco; Loren Eitreim; Ivan Eitreim; Clarice Megard; Gene Eitreim; Marlene Wassenaar; Allen Eitreim; Jerry Eitreim; Mark Eitreim; James Eitreim; Jeannette Fitzgerald; LeAnn Eitreim; Mary Eitreim; and all other person unknown claiming any right, title, estate, interest or lien in the real estate described in the complaint herein, Defendant.SUMMONSTHE STATE OF MINNESOTA TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS. You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon Plaintiff’s attorneys an Answer to Complaint, which is filed in the office of the Court Administrator of the above-named county, within twenty (20) days after service of this Summons upon you, exclusive of the day of service. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint. This action involves, affects, or brings in question real property situated in the County of Rock, State of Minnesota, described as follows: The One (1) acre in the Northeast corner of the Northeast Quarter (NE1/4) of the Southeast Quarter (SE1/4) of Section Eleven (11), Township One Hundred Two (102) North, Range Forty-seven (47) West of the 5th P.M., County of Rock, State of Minnesota, except the one-half (1/2) square acre tract of land located in the Northeast corner of said tract. The object of this action is to remove, terminate and quiet any interest of the defendants to this action and to the real estate described above. The undersigned hereby acknowledges that sanctions may be awarded pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 549.211. Dated this 10th day of December, 2003./s/ Douglas E. EismaDOUGLAS E. EISMAAttorney at Law130 E. Main, PO Box 625Luverne, MN 56156(507) 283-4828FAX (507) 283-9188Attorney ID No. 158343(12-24, 12-31)

Paul Boom Sr., 85, Ellsworth, formerly of Luverne, died Sunday, Dec. 21, 2003, at Park View Manor Nursing Home in Ellsworth. Services were Wednesday, Dec. 24, at American Reformed Church in Luverne. The Rev. David Sikkema officiated. Burial was in Beaver Creek Cemetery in Beaver Creek. Paul Boom Sr. was born to Chris and Sarah (Miersma) Boom on Oct. 24, 1918, in Hills. He attended rural school. After his schooling he helped on the family farm. He married Marian Dodeward on Aug. 5, 1942, at Lester, Iowa. After their marriage, they farmed near Lester for six years. They moved to a farm near Beaver Creek in 1950. After they retired from farming, they moved to Luverne. They moved to Park View Manor Nursing Home in 2001.Mr. Boom was a member of American Reformed Church in Luverne. Survivors include one son, Marlin (Mary) Boom, Ellsworth; two daughters, Cheryl (George) Krumholz, Richfield, and Connie (Robert) Melton, Worthington; 11 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; one brother, Louis (Ann) Boom, Rock Rapids, Iowa; and three sisters, Winnie Van Engen, Hull, Iowa, Sarah Bowman, Brandon, S.D., and LuBertha Boom, Lester.Mr. Boom was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Marian, on Feb. 8, 2002, one son, Paul Boom, Jr., one great-granddaughter, Kaylon Metzger, one brother and one sister. Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Santa’s going to be in townSanta has agreed to stop in Luverne on Saturday, Dec. 20.Santa, along with Mrs. Claus, will be walking up and down Luverne’s Main Street beginning about 2 p.m. This will be Santa’s second visit to Luverne. He also was in town last Saturday.State troopers crack down on seatbelt violatorsThe latest crackdown by the Minnesota Highway Patrol to help put people in the habit of wearing their seatbelts took place from Nov. 19 through Dec. 1.The troopers, out of the Marshall office, stopped more than 200 motorists, and issued 172 seatbelt tickets during the Safe & Sober enhanced enforcement campaign.According to Lt. Brian L. West, 70 percent of Minnesota drivers are regularly using their seatbelts when they drive.Getting our share of the ‘pork’The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published a story about the federal spending (some call it "pork") that came back to Minnesota.On the inside of the publication, the newspaper listed the amount the state has received in 9 categories.Here are the totals:
Defense: $108 million
Grants from departments: $55.6 million
Veterans housing and urban development: $5.14 million
Energy and water: $49.25 million
Military construction: $12.65 million
Transportation: $116.45 million
Health, education and arts: $2.96 million
Justice: $2.85 million
Miscellaneous: $21.32 millionMinnesota households on the riseA recent report from the State Demographic Center reports that Minnesota will increase its number of households by 287,000 between the years 2000 and 2010.Over the next 30 years, an increase of 750,000 households is expected.Approximately two-thirds of the growth is expected to take place in the Twin Cities metro area, so don’t expect the boom to be centered in Luverne.The number of married couples with children under age 18 living at home will decline slightly by 2010, while the number of married couples without children and people living alone will grow substantially. The report already shows a big increase in empty-nesters.After 2010, the aging of baby boomers will produce a sharp increase of elderly people living alone.I suppose you already knew college was getting expensiveA bill currently being considered in Congress would punish colleges financially if they raise their tuition rates too much.With that in mind, the Minneapolis Star Tribune compiled the current tuition rates for Minnesota schools and what the percent of increase their rates are from last year.Here is a list of the top five most expensive Minnesota colleges and their percent of increase over the past two years.First Carleton College: $28,527, up 11.7 percentSecond Macalester College: $25,088, up 11 percentThird St. Olaf College: $23,650, up 11.1 percentFourth Minneapolis College of Art & Design, up 11.4 percentFifth Gustavus Adolphus College: $21,460, up 11.5 percentThe five most inexpensive schools are:First Hennepin Technical college: $3,074, up 22.4 percentSecond Minneapolis Community and Technical College: $3,466, up 25.5 percentThird Metropolitan State University: $3,852, up 23.9 percentFourth Minnesota State University-Moorhead: $4,260, up 25.9 percentFifth Minnesota State University-Mankato: $4,506, up 24.5 percentPublisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

By Lori EhdeBob Latham will be remembered in Luverne as a quiet, effective leader.He died Thursday night at age 62 of an aortic abdominal aneurysm. Steve Perkins, Luverne, gave the eulogy at Latham’s funeral Tuesday. He described Latham as an "uncommonly common" man."It was this ‘uncommonness’ about him that was so great," said Perkins, who was Luverne’s City Administrator in the late 1980s when Latham was a City Council member."He was a listening leader, not a noisy one. As a city administrator, I saw Bob’s quiet leadership carry the day many times. When Bob spoke, like E.F. Hutton, everybody listened. Never haughty or boastful, just uncommonly common."Tom Serie, Luverne, shared business and government ventures with Latham, in addition to a love of flying."I truly liked the guy. Everyone who knew him really liked him," Serie said.The two served City Council and Airport Board together, and even owned an airplane together."He loved flying," said Serie, who agreed with the words in Perkins’ eulogy Tuesday."Uncommonly common pretty much sums it up," Serie said. "Bob was such a quiet leader … He would listen and analyze. He wasn’t a ‘rah-rah’ leader, but his leadership was a matter of making the right choices."Serie said that even though Latham was involved in countless organizations, from public bodies to civic groups, his dedication wasn’t spread thin."Not only did he join all these things, but he was active in them," Serie said."Luverne’s truly going to miss him. His agency is going to miss him."Latham’s son, Mike Latham, has been working with his father at Beaver Creek Mutual Insurance Agency for the past few years."I’ll cherish that," Mike said Monday. "The best thing I ever did was come to work with him."Mike agreed that his father would likely be remembered for wanting to make a difference in Luverne."It’s overwhelming to think about all the things he’s had his hand in the community," he said. "He was dedicated to the community, and he just thought the world of Luverne."He said despite his father’s active role in the community, Mike remembers his father also making time for his family.Bob Latham died around 11:30 p.m. Thursday night in Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls. Latham had been diagnosed a year ago with a brain aneurysm, but when he complained Wednesday of abdominal pain, doctors focused attention on his recent colon infection.By the time he was rushed to Sioux Falls Thursday night, it was too late for a CAT scan to locate the aneurysm for doctors to operate.

By Sara StrongThe Luverne City Council received a recommendation on its search for a new city attorney.City Administrator Greg LaFond said he thought the current attorney’s office, Skewes, Klosterbuer and Vajgrt, Luverne, did a good job with the prosecutions and should remain with the city in that capacity, at a cost of $105 per hour.To keep most of the legal work local, general counsel work would be done by Vander Kooi Law Offices, Luverne, at the cost of $120 per hour.Also a part of staff’s recommendation to the City Council Tuesday was to appoint a special counsel to assist the city attorney in special cases or take over in the case of a conflict of interest.LaFond said appointing a special counsel isn’t necessary, but might keep a relationship with a particular firm open. Flaherty and Hood, St. Paul, was the recommendation at $100 to $110 per hour for attorneys there.Flaherty and Hood represents the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, and has worked with the city of Luverne before in lobbying efforts.The city will likely act on the attorney proposals at its next meeting, Dec. 23. Up until now, Skewes, Klosterbuer and Vajgrt handled all legal matters for the city at an hourly rate of $95. Don Klosterbuer said that when the city and county were both represented by him as city and county attorney, the city was charged half.City water ratesAfter four years of no rate increases, the city of Luverne is considering raising water rates 9.1 percent in 2004. The base fee for most customers will be $10, and $2.16 for water usage up to 20 units.The council will take a final vote on that at its next meeting, after some discussion Tuesday.The next few years have scheduled increases too. 2005 will be 5.1 percent increase; 2006 will be 5 percent; and 2007 will be 4.6 percent.Mayor Glen Gust said he hoped by then, that the city could level off the increases, considering the next few years will bring 23.8 percent more water costs to customers.Finance Officer Barb Berghorst said it’s important to note that the increases are funding depreciation on the costly city water equipment. With this kind of financial planning, customers won’t have big increases after the first few years, and the city can afford upkeep and replacements. A new water tower costs about $1 million, for example, and Luverne’s current water tower was built in the 1940s and is near the end of its usefulness.

By Lori EhdeThe Rock County Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance Tuesday making it illegal to inhabit a building that housed a meth lab until after it’s been cleaned.The ordinance, recommended by Nobles-Rock Public Health, would also make homeowners liable for cleanup costs.When local law enforcement seize drugs and methamphetamine labs from a home, the Minnesota Drug Enforcement Agency removes drugs hazardous materials, and the state pays for that work.But before it’s safe to live there again, Public Health officials say it needs a good housecleaning.Rock County Sheriff Mike Winkels agrees with the ordinance, especially with regard to rental properties."We bust the druggies, they go to jail, and someone else rents the property," he said. "The new renters don’t even know what’s there … What hazard is still there?"Winkels said there have been four meth labs seized in Rock County homes in the past two years.The ordinance, among other things, puts the burden of cleanup — and associated costs — on property ownersIn its recommendation to the County Board, the Health Board wrote, "We are estimating that each clandestine lab incident could consume up to three days of Public Health Director and Sanitarian time with the potential cost of $840."No additional money is being allocated to Nobles-Rock Public Health Services for the enforcement of this proposed ordinance …"Commissioners adopted the ordinance, which becomes effective in January, but had questions about its fairness to property owners.Commissioner Richard Bakken said meth manufacturers are attracted to rural rental properties because of their remote locations and hands-off landlords."There are a lot of properties owned by little old ladies who don’t have much knowledge of what’s going on out there," Bakken said.Commissioner Jane Wildung also pointed out that landowners are bound to act within the law as far as reasons for evicting tenants.The board agreed to work with law enforcement townships to try to find solutions for the cost of cleanup for homeowners – particularly for properties that have no value.

By Sara StrongLuverne councilmen hope Rock County is open to negotiating its dispatching and law enforcement contracts.The city of Luverne pays $737,866 for dispatching and contract law enforcement.Past city councils have mentioned the high cost of law enforcement, too. The city of Luverne is about half of Rock County’s population. Residents pay 20 percent of the county taxes, based on property values. Residents then pay half of dispatching and law enforcement through the contracts the city has with the county.The county has said that city residents get almost twice the service as other county locations.City Administrator Greg LaFond said that the dispatching, in particular, shouldn’t be an extra cost to city residents."Dispatching is for all of Rock County, 24 hours a day. … There’s an inequity here that should be corrected," he said.Councilman Pat Baustian said, "The contract was written wrong, and it’s been that way from day one."LaFond compared dispatching services to road maintenance: all people pay for it, no matter how often they use the roads. Government makes some services available to everyone, he said, and dispatching shouldn’t be charged extra to some.Comparing to othersCity staff surveyed various Minnesota cities to compile information on what they pay for law enforcement and dispatch services.The survey doesn’t offer complete information or consider other contract arrangements. Luverne, population 4,618, pays $504,354 for sheriff services and pays $197,512 for dispatching. That ends up being $159.78 per capita, when the city calculates the numbers adding in the county taxes city residents pay.The fees the city of Luverne pays directly to the county are $446,852 for sheriff and $155,847 for dispatch.The council discussed the varying costs for some other cities that were presented at the meeting. The numbers were in draft form, and may not have included taxes on top of fees, like Luverne’s was calculated. LaFond and Finance Officer Barb Berghorst said they were reviewing numbers other cities submitted, to make sure they were comparing "apples to apples."LaFond said, "The very last thing I would recommend to you is to reconstitute your own police department."He also said that the city’s complaints about the amount it pays to the county doesn’t mean that it is unhappy with the service, or that the county hasn’t done an adequate job of managing expenses.He did hope that any renegotiations of contracts could include more control on the part of the city for the services it pays for. Now, it can’t influence hours of patrol, or how resources are allocated even though it pays half of law enforcement.LaFond said management reports and some input on budgetary matters would be ideal.

By Lori EhdeSnowmobile enthusiasts are poor-weather fans. The worse the winter weather, the better they like it, and without snow, their interest in the sport tends to fade.After a few mild winters, membership in the local Sno-Masters Snowmobile Club is less than half of what it used to be at only 26 members.Now, with several inches on the ground, club members hope to spark new interest in the group."We’re drawn together by a concern for snowmobiling and our community, and enjoy associating with other snowmobilers," said Sno-Master member Terry Hoffman, Luverne."But most of all we like snowmobiling, and want to help further it in our area. We think we can do some good while having fun."With new activities on the calendar this year, the club is drawing some attention. During Winterfest weekend, for example, on Dec. 6, the Sno-Masters sponsored a racing event that drew 76 entries in several categories.A snowmobile safety course last weekend filled nearly to capacity with 33 young drivers now certified.The Sno-Masters will have a Fun Run this weekend, and a Nick Mann memorial run is planned for January.All this, with any help from the weather, should help the club. "Now if we could just make sure it snows," said Sno-Masters member Seth Stegenga. "There’s a lot of snowmobilers in town, but we don’t see them at meetings."The Sno-Masters Club was founded in 1968 for the purpose of group rides and organized routes. Back then, the routes consisted of ditches and waterways.Today, the club takes credit for 50 miles of groomed trails that connect to trails in neighboring Pipestone and Nobles counties.The result has been safer riding and a better reputation for snowmobilers."It really makes us look bad when snowmobilers ride across people's lawns," said Stegenga, Sno-Masters trail coordinator. "There's a lot of people out there who think snowmobiling is their right. It's not. It's their privilege."Much of the Sno-Masters trail cuts through private land, with permission of landowners, so the club emphasizes respect for property, and staying on the trail.City ordinances prohibit snowmobiling in town, but riders can take side streets directly to and from trail outlets. A popular access point is Howling Dog, where riders can park trailers and access the trail behind the business.Trail maps are also available at Howling Dog.The map has changed slightly in the past few years, particularly with regard to the Blue Mounds State Park.Snowmobiling isn’t allowed on the new bike path, which occupies portions of the old snowmobile trail east of the Blue Mounds cliff line.For years, snowmobilers have been riding a loop atop the Mounds by the bison pens, but park officials say that has never been part of the Sno-Masters sanctioned trail.Because the Sno-Masters helped fund a portion of the winter warming house in the park, the trail goes to and from the building, but the official trail is north of the campgrounds and water area. Snowmobiles can enter the park at the Main Entrance from County Road 20 on the west, and north of the lower dam from County Road 8 on the east.The Sno-Masters trail groomer is paid for with annual grants through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Last year, the allotment was $14,000. This year it’s $9,000.This weekend’s Sno-Master’s Fun Run, which is a major fund-raiser for the group, will start at noon Saturday, Dec. 20, at the Howling Dog.Stops are planned in Kenneth, Lismore, Hardwick and Trosky, and riders can join from any of those locations.It costs $30 to join the Sno-Masters, $20 of which covers benefits from automatic membership in the Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association.For information on the club, its events or how to join, contact Stegenga or one of the Sno-Masters officers: Lyle Stroeh, Dave Severtson, Eric Sandbulte or Adam Siebenahler.

By Brenda WinterSuperintendent Dave Deragisch told school board members at a recent meeting that the boiler pipes in the high school building may not last until spring.Deragisch said the pipes leading to the boiler leak and will need repairs soon. "It’s summer work, though. We’re going to limp along and hope we get through the winter. If the pipes don’t hold up and a repair job is needed, we’ll have to do something else with school for a couple of days," Deragisch said. The boiler was out of commission for a few days this fall, but fortunately it was during the warmest days of the season. Deragisch said the boiler itself works fine, but the pipes leading to it leak and are located under the basement concrete. He said an above-floor pipe cannot be used to fix the problem for safety reasons.